ANGELA Merkel has been plunged into further crisis after her Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said the coalition Government should be destroyed if he is dismissed in their long-running dispute over migrant policy.

In the latest extraordinary twist, Mr Seehofer, of the CSU, has threatened to defy his sister party the CDU in going ahead with plans for Germany to send migrants back already registered with other EU states.

Mrs Merkel has rejected this but if such a move were to go ahead, it would be a complete reversal of the Chancellor’s open-door policy, undermining her authority and blowing a huge hole in the EU’s open-border system.

The differences on migration policy are treating to tear the country’s political landscape to shreds and such a direct threat to Ms Merkel’s authority could force her to fire the Bavarian.

In an interview with the German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse, Mr Seehofer warned the Chancellor against dismissing him for making unilateral decisions in the dispute.

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He said: "If they dismiss a minister who cares about the safety and order of his country with this justification, it would be first.

"I am chairman of the CSU, one of three coalition parties, and act with full backing of my party. If they were dissatisfied with the work of the Federal Interior Minister in the Chancellery, then they should end the coalition.”

Mr Seehofer denied that the Union’s staunch opposition to current migration policy was in aid of the CSU Bavarian state election campaign.

He added: "The CSU is fighting for its convictions here, which is more important than an appointment.

“I hear from many people day after day: 'Stand your ground, do not fall over!' It's about credibility.

"This is more important than an office.”

The CSU had given Ms Merkel until the end of this month to form bilateral agreements with countries such as Italy and Greece before next week’s EU summit, after which refugees can be turned away at the border if they have already been registered in another EU country.

Last week, in an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Mr Seehofer attempted to calm fears over an all-out political war.

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Angela Merkel, head of the Christian Democratic Party CDU starts her fourth term as German chancellor.

Chancellor Angela Merkel (L), CDU, and Wolfgang Schaeuble, CDU, are pictured during the swearing-in of the new federal government

He said: "No one in the CSU has an interest in bringing down the chancellor, to break up the CDU/CSU parliamentary alliance or to blow up the coalition."

But in terms of substance, he showed no signs of shifting his position, adding: "We want a solution for sending back refugees at our borders.”

It is yet another headache for the German Chancellor after a YouGov survey revealed that 43 percent of voters wanted her to quit, with the disputes strangling the political landscape clearly dividing the country.

Nearly a third of those surveyed - 32 percent - said they believed the immigration row could topple Ms Merkel fragile government.